Step 1:

Toast almonds at 400 degrees in oven for 8-10 minutes (optional-sometimes I don’t toast them, they are great either way.)

Step 2:

In a small saucepan on the lowest heat possible, melt the coconut oil and gradually whisk in the coconut milk, maple syrup, and cacao powder. The mixture should be both thick and smooth, but not runny. If it is too dry, add more coconut oil or coconut milk.

Step 3:

Line an 8×8 glass pan with parchment/wax paper OR alternatively line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Step 4:

Pour half the chocolate mixture into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Step 5:

In a large bowl, mix together the coconut flakes, honey/maple syrup, and melted butter.

Step 6:

Scoop the coconut mixture into the pan.

Step 7:

Pour the remaining chocolate over the coconut mixture. Then top with the almonds.

Step 8:

Place in fridge or freezer to cool. If you made these in an 8×8 glass pan, then cut them into squares before serving. Enjoy! :)

Add flour till dough cleans side of bowl and is slightly sticky. Dough should not stick yo your hands.

Kneed for 5-7 min and plop into a oiled bowl. Let rise for about a hr in a warm room

Punch down and shape into loaves. Place loaves in heavily buttered bread pans. Let rise till 1" above rim of pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and place on wire rack. Coat top of loaves with butter.

Making your own ketchup is so EASY to make at home and making it yourself allows you to control what goes into it.

Ketchup is as American as apple pie, that sweet-sour combination on french fries are irresistible and who doesn't love it on their burgers! But have you ever checked the label of your favorite brand of ketchup? High Fructose Corn Syrup is used to sweeten most brands of ketchup although I did find organic Heinz ketchup in my health food store that does not contain HFCS's, but it was half the size at a higher price.

So I thought it would be fun to try making my own and tested and played around with a few recipes until I found one that I loved with some slight changes using honey as my sweetener.

Ingredients:

6 oz can tomato paste

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup water

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat; whisk until smooth.

When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Remove from heat and cover until cool. Chill and store refrigerated in a covered container.

In a large bowl, whisk yolks and honey together until pale yellow, 1 to 2 minutes. Add light and regular coconut milk and whisk again until well combined.

Transfer coconut mixture to a medium pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until just thickened and mixture coats the back of a spoon, 8 to 10 minutes. Be sure not to let the mixture boil. Remove pot from the heat and stir in vanilla.

Transfer contents of pot to a bowl and chill until cold. Process mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions then transfer to a container with a lid and freeze until firm, about 2 hours more.

Here is a Juice Jello recipe sweetened with honey that is a nice treat. We do this for a treat since gelatin is supposedto be so good for "the gut"Juice Jello1 cup grape juice ( or juice of your choice )Sprinkle 5-6 Tbs gelatin over juice - let dissolveAdd 2 cups boiling water1/3 cup honeyMix wellAdd 5 cups cold grape juice (this works with most juice, not just grape)Can stir in fruit. Refrigerate.

You can add whatever you think would be good to this, it doesn't have to beslivered almonds, it can be chopped almonds or pecans, we add pumpkinseeds, golden raisins, sesame seeds….makes it different every time

The thing about this recipe is that 7 minutes of boiling is different fromstovetop to stovetop. I have gas heat and find that 7 minutes of anythingbut very low boiling is too much and the candy gets brittle. If you likehard candy to suck on, boil it higher and for the whole 7 minutes and pourit onto a cookie sheet and break it when it gets hard. If you like itsofter, boil it on as low heat as you can and maybe just for 6 minutes. Youhave to experiment using your own pans, and heat source. Hard or soft, itstill tastes good.

Combine honey and cream in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally while it cooks. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches soft ball stage.

The easiest way to do this is with a candy thermometer, though you can test it with other methods. Remove pan from the heat and immediately stir in vanilla and butter. Stir until butter is completely melted and combined. Pour into a generously buttered 8 by 8 dish or smaller if you want thick large caramels. Having your dish properly buttered is important for easy removal of the caramels once set. Place in the freezer to harden for 30 minutes. Cut into squares or scoop out with a spoon and enjoy!

Keep left overs in the fridge or freezer. If you are going to take these caramels with you traveling, be sure to keep them cool! They will melt in high humidity and hot temperatures and will be hard to eat.

Right after Christmas we got our first sickness in over a year, the kids had croup! It was pretty mind but still required steamy showers during the night. We were up several nights in a row with coughing little ones who wanted lots of cuddles. At first i was very frustrated and just wanted to sleep. But as the days moved on, I started to enjoy sleeping on the family room floor. I got to spend some sweet time reading, telling stories, watching movies, and just relaxing with the kiddos. Meanwhile I sold our bed...yes I know, usually one would get a new one first but I was waking up to sore and tired that I wasn't sleeping on it anyway. It also made it more of a priority to get a new mattress since the old was gone{I know how to work these things}. Well, after 6 weeks of floor and couch we got a BED, yay!

It was like honeymoon all over again :) My husband has been so sweet to help with so many things. What would I ever do without him?? I guess I wouldn't and that is why The Lord blessed me with such a great man in my life. He loves, serves, and cherishes the children and I every day!

We also got tyler his first pet!!! he is super excited and loves on this little guy so much.

To end this blog I want to say thank you to everyone involved in our lives. Your such a blessing to us!